New members of the management at the 7th Anniversary of the SECI Center
The SECI Regional Center for Combating Trans-Border Crime hosted the 23rd Meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) on May 25th – 26th in Bucharest.
Electing two members of the management of the SECI Center (composed of three persons), as well as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the JCC was one of the issues on the agenda.
Romanian Police Questor Alexandru Ionas re-elected as Deputy Director and Head of the Operational Support Department for another 2-year mandate.
The JCC voted for Mr. Ibrahim Gul, representative of the Turkish Customs, to be invested as the new Head of the Legal and Internal Department. Previously, Mrs. Snejana Nenova, from the Bulgarian Customs, had held this position for 2 consecutive mandates.
Mr. Georgios Kounadis, representing the Greek Customs, was re-elected as Chairman of the JCC, while the new Vice-Chairman is Colonel Agron Sojati, from the Albanian Police.
The Republic of Poland was granted the status of Permanent Observer at the SECI Center, thus becoming the 16th state having this status.
UNDP Romania also received the status of Permanent Observer at the SECI Center.
The second day of the JCC Meeting, 26th of May, marked 7 years since the signing of the Agreement of Cooperation for Preventing and Combating Trans-border Crime (the SECI Agreement).
“I am pleased to recall the day of May 26, 1999, when the Member Countries of the Southeast European Cooperation Initiative (SECI) entered into a bold agreement to bring together, for the first time, Police and Customs officers in a jointly funded and operated organization to combat trans-border crime.
Throughout the years, the goal of the 12 SECI Member Countries efforts was to achieve a unified response with regard to fighting organized crime groups which operate within or beyond the Southeast European region. 7 years later, not only is cooperation flourishing, it has exceeded all expectations, to a point where its original charter and agreement must be amended to keep pace with the SECI Center`s progress. All this period,the SECI Center has contributed to the overall regional security and political stabilization of its Member Countries”, stated the Director of the SECI Center, Mitja Mocnik.
Alongside with the JCC Members from the 12 SECI Countries, representatives of the states with Permanent Observer Status (Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, the United States of America), as well as international organizations and bodies (Interpol, US Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Secret Service, International Organization for Migration, Stability Pact for South-East Europe, UNMIK, and the European Union Police Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, attended this event.
Electing two members of the management of the SECI Center (composed of three persons), as well as the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the JCC was one of the issues on the agenda.
Romanian Police Questor Alexandru Ionas re-elected as Deputy Director and Head of the Operational Support Department for another 2-year mandate.
The JCC voted for Mr. Ibrahim Gul, representative of the Turkish Customs, to be invested as the new Head of the Legal and Internal Department. Previously, Mrs. Snejana Nenova, from the Bulgarian Customs, had held this position for 2 consecutive mandates.
Mr. Georgios Kounadis, representing the Greek Customs, was re-elected as Chairman of the JCC, while the new Vice-Chairman is Colonel Agron Sojati, from the Albanian Police.
The Republic of Poland was granted the status of Permanent Observer at the SECI Center, thus becoming the 16th state having this status.
UNDP Romania also received the status of Permanent Observer at the SECI Center.
The second day of the JCC Meeting, 26th of May, marked 7 years since the signing of the Agreement of Cooperation for Preventing and Combating Trans-border Crime (the SECI Agreement).
“I am pleased to recall the day of May 26, 1999, when the Member Countries of the Southeast European Cooperation Initiative (SECI) entered into a bold agreement to bring together, for the first time, Police and Customs officers in a jointly funded and operated organization to combat trans-border crime.
Throughout the years, the goal of the 12 SECI Member Countries efforts was to achieve a unified response with regard to fighting organized crime groups which operate within or beyond the Southeast European region. 7 years later, not only is cooperation flourishing, it has exceeded all expectations, to a point where its original charter and agreement must be amended to keep pace with the SECI Center`s progress. All this period,the SECI Center has contributed to the overall regional security and political stabilization of its Member Countries”, stated the Director of the SECI Center, Mitja Mocnik.
Alongside with the JCC Members from the 12 SECI Countries, representatives of the states with Permanent Observer Status (Azerbaijan, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Ukraine, the United States of America), as well as international organizations and bodies (Interpol, US Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Secret Service, International Organization for Migration, Stability Pact for South-East Europe, UNMIK, and the European Union Police Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina, attended this event.
